Chapter 11 tracks the festival of carnaval on the Alto. The chapter begins with a brief introduction on the role of carnaval in mainstream Brazilian culture, and the significance thereof. In this mode, carnaval is a form of play based on reversal, inversion and animation, which has at its goal the upsetting of familiar conventions and states. As much a celebration of life and sensuality, carnaval is also meant to highlight the "artificial" nature of borders, boundaries, and codes, by providing a space in which these rules might be bent and broken. Moreover, carnaval is meant to represent a freer form of being and expression than what is typically permitted.

Within the atmosphere of Northeastern Brazil and Bom Jesus, the author writes, this has great significance: historically, the forces of political repression and economic marginalization add urgency to the celebration. In all, everyday life on the Alto would seem to imply such daily stress and trauma that the play of carnaval would be a welcome―if not necessary―reprieve. However, the carnaval festival in Bom Jesus is muted, and divided along class lines. The author notes little of the social inversion and license that dominate expectations of the festival.